Normal is in the Past (Dave X Reader)
by fakeSymmetry
Summary: You'd thought that life was a bit boring, almost like it was missing something, for a long time now. But that all changed when Dave, Dirk and Karkat crashed into your life. Literally.
1. Introduction - not so boring anymore

**Homestuck and it's characters all belong to Andrew Hussie. I own nothing but the plot to this story. Please note that this disclaimer covers further chapters as well. Thanks :)**

* * *

You'd thought that life was a bit boring, almost like it was missing something, for a long time now. Like in games or movies where something amazing and unrealistic happens to the main character. You were waiting for that moment that made your life less... normal.

You lived a nice life, with a nice family, in a nice home, and went to a nice school. And you were sick of it. Sure, everyone's had that "you're so lucky to have the life you have" speech from their parents, and _were_ grateful you didn't live in a warzone and had food to eat and a roof over your head. But that didn't make everyday life any less boring.

Having surrounded yourself in a world of books, anime, games, comics and movies, you wanted oh-so-badly to experience something fantastical like all those characters you loved so much. Unfortunately, deep down you knew that would never happen. You'd be stuck re-reading those beloved books, searching for new games to play, binge watching the new episodes of shows you admittedly forgot to watch, and checking your favourite webcomics for much needed updates. Such was the life of a fangirl.

So when those three boys came crashing onto your lounge room floor through a shifting spirograph as you scrolled through your tumblr dash on your laptop, you were honestly exited. Confused, but excited.

You'd been bored out of your brain after mucking around online for a while and were scrolling down the line of posts on your tumblr dash, watching gap in the scroll bar get wider and wider. When sudden screaming followed by a loud thud and a few groans of pain filled your living room, you jumped, squeaking in surprise then fumbling with your laptop as it threatened to fall off your lap.

You placed you laptop safely on the recliner you were previously sitting in after standing up, and peered up at the softly glowing, green spirograph that had suddenly appeared in your living room ceiling. It changed pattern a few times, then promptly closed in on itself, disappearing, as if it had never been there.

You looked down at the pile of bodies that was separating into three boys and froze. There was no way this could be happening. It just wasn't possible. This had to be one of those hidden camera shows. There was no other possibility.

Your mind flew at a million miles an hour and your body felt numb. You just stared, eyes wide at the three impossible boys in front of you.

You'd thought that life was a bit boring, almost like it was missing something, for a long time now. But that all changed when Dave, Dirk and Karkat crashed into your life. Literally.

* * *

 **Ok, so this is an idea I've had for a little bit now, and I'm honestly excited to start this. This is just a bit of an intro to the story to get the ball rolling and hopefully see what people think, and I'll make the upcoming chapters longer. The main pairing will be reader X dave but I'm going to add some blackrom with karkat and maybe a moirallegiance off to the side. I'm still deciding on little details and I'd be glad to hear any thoughts anyone might have or anything they'd like to see happen. Thanks, and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 1 - it started with a crash

Three faces stared at you. You stared back. The silence hovered between you. You, being the smart person you are, said the first thing that came to your mind.

"Well fuck me sideways with a chainsaw."

Three confused faces stared at you. You stared back, perplexed. The silence was still there. You tried a different approach and began to try to make sense of the situation while muttering your thoughts as they came. You moved about aimlessly as you did so, waving your arms around every now and then to help organise your thoughts.

"You guys are cosplayers, aren't you? I mean, that makes the most sense, given the situation. But then what about the portal trick? You wouldn't have just installed a trap door in my ceiling then done a flashy light show for the hell of it. That also begs the question as to why _I'm_ the one you'd do it to. I'm too ordinary. Oh! Wait, is this one of those stupid hidden camera shows? It is, isn't it? Wait, that still doesn't answer the whole "why me" question... How the hell do you even get on one of those shows? You'd have to enter your name, right? Or not? I don't know. Anyway, both theories are flawed, but I can't think of any other explanation besides you guys are the real fucking deal. But that's just stupid... isn't it?"

You stopped ranting and looked at the boys on your floor again. They stared back for a few seconds before Karkat not-so-politely questioned "what the fuck?"

You gave him an exasperated look before replying "I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out!"

He huffed back. "Well excuse me, oh acrimonious one, for being confused because I've just been sent spinal crevice over shout pot through time and space, landing on top of two fucking Stridery ass holes, only to have my ear ducts harassed by your babbling brook of bullshit."

You blinked a few times.

"Well damn, if you guys _are_ cosplaying you've got Karkat's character down pat."

"Who the fuck are you, and better yet, how the fuck do you know who I am?!" Karkat demanded while giving you a horrified look.

At this point, Dave joined the conversation with "actually, that's a really damn good question. That and 'where the fuck are we?'"

You looked between the two.

"Okay, you can drop the act now. We've established you're great RPers as well as great cosplayers."

"Listen" Dave said, "I can understand you'd be pretty confused and all, what with three random hot guys making a grand fucking entrance via portal onto your floor and all, but do you think that you could just pretend for ten minutes that this is real and we're from other worlds and shit and answer some of our questions?"

You blinked a few times again.

"Alright" you said slowly. "Let's say I do pretend that you guys are the real Dave, Dirk and Karkat for a few minutes. What do you want to know?"

"First off, how do you know our names? I'm pretty damn sure we've never met before," Dirk asked, also joining the conversation.

You shrugged. "That's easy an easy one. You guys are pretty well known here due to a webcomic called 'Homestuck' that you're all characters in. Thank god I don't have to explain it though since you guys have actually experienced it. It's always hard doing that when someone asks 'what's it about?' Next?"

Nervous glances were passed around the trio.

"Alright, back to my question, where the fuck are we?" Dave asked.

"Also easy, (country name), planet fucking earth. Welcome aboard."

"So we're back on earth? What year?" Dirk asked next.

"Right, future boy" you reminded yourself as you remembered that Dirk knew a very different earth. "It's currently (year), and yes, you _are_ back on earth. Or at least _you_ are, it's Karkat's first time visiting our fabulous blue speck hidden in the universe" you answered.

Dirk gazed out of one of the windows and whispered "we did it, we really did it."

"Hey, you ok there?" you asked Dirk, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I just..." he stood up and raked a hand through his hair, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Holy shit we did it."

The other two followed suit and stood up as well. You noted that Dirk and Dave were taller than you, but Karkat was about the same height as you.

You looked at Karkat more closely, who looked back at you and frowned. "What?" he asked gruffly.

You frowned back, having noticed a lack of a headband on his head and no signs of his horns being clip on, or of him wearing a wig, before replying "I'm having second thoughts about whether or not you're the real deal, and I've got an idea to test it. Wait here."

You ran off to your room leaving the boys to look at each other in confusion.

Once you located what you were looking for in your mess of a room, you ran back out. Man, you really needed to clean your room. Add that to the list of things that you need to do but will continue to put off.

"Give me your hand" you told Karkat once you'd returned.

"What? No! Why the fuck should I do that?" he said, pulling his hands away defensively.

You rolled your eyes and held up the packet in your own hand. "I grabbed these are makeup wipes since I thought this would be the least invasive method. If you're a cosplayer, you would've had to have used some sort of makeup or paint to make yourself grey. If nothing comes off when I use one of these on you, that means you've either dyed your skin, which is highly unlikely, or..." you trailed off. You wanted so badly to believe that they were really the characters from the comic you loved so much, but you didn't want to get your hopes up in case they really were just cosplayers.

"Or?" Dave prompted.

"Or, you really are who you say you are" you finished.

Karkat glared at you, then held out his hand.

You opened the packet and pulled out a wipe. You took a deep breath, then held Karkat's hand gently in one of your own and began to wipe at it.

After a while, you stopped to check his skin and saw that it was still grey and the wipe had no colour on it. You wiped a bit harder this time, excitement bubbling up in the pit of your stomach.

You pulled back again after about a minute only to see the wipe still clean. You looked up into Karkat's eyes and saw how detailed his irises were, thinking how no contacts could look that way, even if they were sclera contacts, which you knew from experience were incredibly hard to find for that particular style anyway.

Karkat raised an eyebrow and asked "believe us yet?"

You nodded dumbly and dropped his arm, yours falling limply to your sides.

"Whoa" was all you could manage to breath out.

"Yeah, whoa" you heard who you guessed was Dave say.

You looked over to see both Striders giving you their trademark smirks.

You gulped, struggling to keep yourself composed and promptly excused yourself before hastily making your way back to your room where you flopped onto your bed, buried your face into your pillow and squealed and laughed like the fangirl you were.

 _It was really them_

* * *

 **So, I finally finished the first chapter of this, and I have to say, I'm really happy with it :3c Hopefully the next one won't take too long, but I've been working a lot lately and I've got homework to finish before school starts again and I go into year 12. _Ugh_. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and I'd love it if you could leave a review if you have time :3**


	3. Chapter 2 - a lot of explaining

"Um, excuse me for a sec" you mumbled as you absconded from the room as fast as you could without looking suspicious. The second you were out of sight the smirks dropped from both of the Strider's faces and the trio turned to face each other.

A moment of silence passed as the three sorted out their thoughts. Karkat was the one to speak first.

"So, earth, huh? This is where you pink, fleshy monkeys grew up and all that other fluffy shit."

"It's a lot different from the earth I know," Dirk replied. "But this isn't what we need to be talking about right now."

"Right. Everyone was there before we went through the portal, but what happened during? What can you guys remember?" Dave said. "I don't remember too much beside a nauseating trip through pitch black. It was like going through space and time on spin cycle or something."

"Same for me." Dirk added. "Next thing I know I'm being crushed by you two. Thanks for that by the way."

"Yeah well we didn't get much choice in the matter either. All I know is that everyone was there before and now it's just us. However, that does beg the question 'where's everyone else now?'" Karkat asked.

The three looked at each other, silence settling once again.

Unbeknownst to the trio, you had deemed yourself calm and was about to re-enter the room when you overheard Karkat's question. You had stopped short, acting on instinct, and were now hiding just beside the doorway, out of sight, listening in.

"We don't know," Dirk said bluntly. "We don't know anything. We need to face facts here, and the fact is that we don't have any fucking idea what happened or what's happening now."

"You're right. We need to stop asking stupid questions and start thinking about what to do next," Dave said, turning around and spreading his arms out, ready to equip his time spinning turntables.

A loud crash made you jump and you heard a string of curses follow the sound.

You rushed into the room, abandoning your hiding position to find Dave buried under a pile of... well, stuff.

"What did I miss?" you asked.

"Oh not much. Just that we have no fucking clue what's happening and Dave here decided now would be the perfect time for a nap in the trash pile," Karkat griped, scowling at Dave who shot back a "shut up" from under the pile.

He shuffled out from under the seemingly random stuff, saying that something wasn't right.

"What do you mean?" you asked, frowning slightly.

"I mean," Dave said, turning to face you, his eyebrows dipped, indicating he was mirroring your frown. "I just tried to equip my turntables and this happened" he said gesturing to the pile, his frown deepening, eyebrows hiding with his eyes behind his shades.

"So what, you can't use your syladex anymore?" you asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Dave just shrugged, blank facade returning.

"You two should probably hold off trying to use your syladexes for a while since I'm guessing the same thing will happen and I don't want your shit all over the place," you said, looking at the other two of the three.

Karkat and Dirk looked at each other then back at you.

"Looks like you guys are going to have to get used to this universe's laws of reality," you chuckled.

The three gave you a puzzled look.

"Well, for one, there are no magical things here, such as syladexs, or games that create alternate dimensions. Everything here follows a strict set of laws and science is king," you explained.

"How the fuck do you take anything anywhere?" Dirk asked, giving you a somewhat perplexed look while Karkat mumbled "you're starting to sound like that asshole, Eridan," under his breath.

"People have to do things the hard way here. We generally use bags, or just carry things in our hands and pockets," you responded while glaring at Karkat.

The trio once again looked at each other warily before Dirk asked "Look, sorry, but can you give us a minute?"

You nodded, glare disappearing, and the three huddled together, murmuring amongst themselves.

After some time and snippets of furious whispering, they finally turned back.

"So what have you decided?" you asked. Dave was the one to answer.

"We're going to stay with you since we're probably going to need your help."

You blinked.

"Let me get this straight. You, three people from alternate dimensions, one being an alien, one being a boy from the future, and one who can maybe still travel through time, who have created and destroyed universes, fought bosses of unimaginable strength, faced gods and become gods, need me, a normal girl who has pretty much nothing going for her apart from her mad fangirling abilities, to help you."

"Pretty much," Dirk nodded.

"Right. Sure. Makes perfect sense. Might I ask exactly what you need my help with?"

"For one some fucking food would be great right about now," Karkat answered gruffly.

"You're not getting anything with that tone of voice, mister. And don't even think about pulling the whole 'I'm your god! Obey me lowly human!' shtick," you said, stopping Karkat dead before the words even got out of his mouth.

"What the fuck?!" he yelled in agitation.

"I know you better than you think, Karkat Vantas."

"Actually he has a point. _Do_ you have anything to eat? It's been a while for us." Dave said.

"Sure thing, Dave! I'll see what we've got. I think we might even have some apple juice in the fridge," you responded with a smile.

"Oh, so you'll get something to eat for Dave, but not me?" Karkat griped.

"Yes," you answered. "But only because he asked nicely. Now Karkat, what do you think the moral of the story is here?"

Karkat glowered at you, a growl rising from his throat.

You giggled, a smirk in plain view on your face, and you left for the kitchen.

"We'll talk about what you guys need help with over lunch, ok?" you called back, and two voices sounded their approval while one just growled louder.

"Is he always like this?" Dirk asked Dave quietly, gesturing to Karkat. He didn't exactly have the time to meet the grouchy troll properly like he had Dave.

"Nah, to be honest that chick somehow pushed his buttons in just the right way. It was like, he was a game of DDR and she was a pro player. She didn't know the song, but she knew how to play the game. Got a perfect score and everything," Dave said.

It was odd. She'd somehow said just the right things to piss Karkat off enough that he'd be thoroughly annoyed, but not enough to get him into one of his fits. It was playful and not hurtful, but she didn't take his shit either.

Dave guessed it had something to do with them being characters in a webcomic she evidently liked in this universe.

He was still uneasy about that, but at the same time it was kind of cool. He made comics himself, so he knew what it was like to create something that people read and enjoyed. Knowing that he was a character from something that brought happiness to its readers was a pretty awesome feeling.

"You guys don't have to stand around like a flock of seagulls, take a seat. The remote for the TV should be on the coffee table if you want to watch TV or something," you called from the depths of the kitchen.

Dave chuckled.

"What?" Karkat snapped, still upset that he'd lost that round with you. He didn't plan to lose the war though.

"Nothing, man. It's just been that long since I've watched TV. Like, holy shit. I'd pretty much forgotten that was a thing."

"I always wondered what TV was like. I mean, I'd heard about it, but when there's no one to broadcast stuff you can't exactly watch anything," Dirk said. "I guessed it'd be kinda like watching something online, but it's interrupted all the time by ads or some shit, and you can't just watch the next episode, you have to wait. It actually sounds pretty annoying."

"Why don't you switch on the TV and find out?" you said, still smiling as you walked back into the room and put a plate of cheese sandwiches on the coffee table.

"Nah, it's good," Dirk said, picking up a slice of sandwich and wolfing it down.

The other two followed suite, although Karkat sniffed his then nibbled a corner before deeming it edible.

"So," you started, picking up three triangles of bread and cheese, eating one of them in a much more polite manner. "Onto business. I'm guessing you need my help since you'll need to adjust to this world. Especially you, Karkat. If sci-fi movies are anything to go by, the government doesn't bode well with aliens. Plus, seeing how you guys are hoeing into those, you're also gonna need someone to help you with food and shelter."

"Pretty much. Didn't you say you had apple juice?" Dave said around a mouthful.

"Correction, I said we _might._ And unfortunately, we don't. Sorry bro," you said.

Dave's face fell. "Don't get a guy's hopes up like that. I haven't had the real stuff in years."

"Oh, right. I'll get mum or dad to get some next time they go grocery shopping," you said, feeling a pang of sympathy for the guy.

You began to eat your second sandwich slice and noticed that your suspicions were correct in that the rest had already been devoured. Good thing you _did_ grab three.

"As for accommodation, we have a spare room, but the issue is in if my parents will let you stay," you mused.

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it. We're totally loveable. We'll make a great impression on them, they'll be eating out of our hands in no time," Dave said.

"Yeah, but we better ductape this guy in case," Dirk pointed at Karkat.

"You have a point, my dear prince of heart," you nodded. "He's rather like a pissed cat. Small, fluffy and cute, but will attack you if you so much as look at him wrong."

"I am _not_ cute or fluffy!" Karkat screeched.

"Sure you are!" you laughed. "Look at you. Your hair looks so soft and fluffy, and that sweater you wear adds to that. It looks so comfy and poofy." You made a 'poof' motion with your hands.

Karkat moaned.

You were having way too much fun with this. Actually talking to Karkat was nothing like you'd ever imagined. It was so easy to get him riled up, you just couldn't help yourself. And god help you if he started arguing with you. When you started arguing, you argued _hard._ You could go on for ages if you weren't stopped.

"You know, the first impression you've given me of yourself has made you seem completely unbearable. And as for height..." Karkat stood up and walked over to you. He was only able to slightly look down on you. "Who's small now?" he sneered.

You'll admit, you liked where this was going. You were a little intimidated by his gaze, but you still stood up to meet his gaze and maintained eye contact. This was getting fun.

"Height difference doesn't really matter to me. I'm used to feeling a bit short. I have friends who are much taller than you," you smirked. "Also, admitting that I get on your nerves just adds fuel to the fire."

Karat started growling again.

"Okay, that's far enough."

Dirk pushed the two of you away from each other and got in between you.

"Don't make us auspistice for you guys," Dave added from his spot on the couch.

You sighed in disappointment and flopped onto a nearby recliner.

"Hey, I just realised this, but you never actually introduced yourself," Dirk told you.

"Huh, I guess I didn't," you said.

"So what's your name?" Dave asked.

Suddenly the front door opened.

"(Your name)! We're back!" called your mum.

All of you froze, and your mum walked into the living room.

Her face was surprised at first, but then melted into a strict, motherly glare. She crossed her arms and looked at you in specific.

"You got a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

* * *

 **All right! Chapter 2 out, and over 2,000 words, too! I'm very happy with this chapter, but I'll say it now that first few chapters are going to just be setting up the plot and getting details like parents, living arrangements, money and the laws of reality. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the chapters nice and long like this one, too.**

 **I'll also say that the time between updates may be a little while since I've just started year 12 at school and I've lost my job since the supermarket I worked at burnt down, so I've got a lot going on right now. I'll try my best!**

 **Also, that you all so much for the words of encouragement and support! It really means a lot to me!**


	4. Chapter 3 - late night bullshit

You flopped onto your bed and buried your face into your pillow. Thank god you finally escaped from that. You rolled over to stop from suffocating yourself and clutched a second pillow to your stomach.

You'd finally convinced your parents of what was happening, and then convinced them to not call the police or government and let Dave, Dirk and Karkat stay, and finally taken the three amigos to the spare room so they could figure out sleeping arrangements. You told them you'd bring in however many mattresses to put on the floor later.

God, you still couldn't believe what was happening. It was just so amazing, wait until your friends found out!

Although you _did_ wonder if any of the others were here too. You figured that maybe those who were present for the final showdown in the comic were also thrown here through a portal, since Dave and Dirk seemed to know each other fairly well and they had bro time just before the showdown.

 _It wouldn't be too unreasonable, I mean,_ they're _here,_ you reasoned.

You heaved a sigh; you still needed to move all of Dave's shit from the living room.

 _Better get started._

You made your way to the spare room where you could hear the three boys talking amongst themselves behind the door. You gave a couple of knocks before entering to let them know you were coming in and stood in the doorway.

"Hey, Dave, wanna help me decide where to put all your stuff that's still in the living room?"

"Sure."

He tried to get up, but became tangled in his cape and fell onto the floor.

You tried really hard not to laugh, you really did, but a muffled chortle managed to make it past your lips. The other two were doing much the same however, so you didn't feel too bad. You turned away to let Dave keep some of his dignity.

"We should probably try to get you guys some other clothes too. Not that I don't like the cape or puff shorts guys, but you kinda stick out like a sore thumb. You're fine though, Karkat."

Karkat aimed a smug little grin at Dave and you could have sworn you saw something flash behind Dave's shades. Obviously you weren't in on this.

"I'll meet you in the living room, 'kay Dave?"

You left before he gave an answer.

Karkat, who was still smirking at Dave, said "I told you your cape was stupid."

* * *

Dave had been helping you sort though the pile of stuff, telling you what you could throw out and what to keep, for about fifteen minutes now. You'd been idly chatting as you did, answering all his questions, and asking him things here and there. He'd even done a quick rap for you at one point.

Eventually you dug his gear shaped turntables from the pile.

"Hey, Dave?"

He gave a hum to show you he was listening.

"Do you think you still have your god tier powers?"

He looked over at you.

"I mean, you can't use your syladex anymore obviously, but that was from your universe. Your god tier powers and stuff came from the game, and I was thinking, if the game can transport you here, can you still use the powers you got from it?"

Dave looked away. You couldn't tell exactly, but you thought he was thinking. Suddenly he stood up.

"Let's go outside. If we're gonna test this rad theory of yours, we should probably do it out there."

"I'll get the others, we can empty their syladexes too if they want" you volunteered. Dave nodded and you set off for the spare room.

You told the other two about your theory and told them to meet you outside if they wanted to join in.

They both followed you outside and you all stood under the covered area that looked onto your back yard.

"Alright, who's going first?"

All eyes swivelled to Dave.

Dirk' powers were pretty destructive, so you weren't sure if he was going to have a go. And of course, Karkat never went god tier, so that left Dave.

"Yeah, yeah, ok," he said then walked out onto the grass.

He had brought his turntables out with him, and he got them floating beside him.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered, and gave the disks a spin.

Dave disappeared in a flash then reappeared beside you.

"Did it work? Well, obviously it worked, but where or when did you go?" you asked.

"I tried to go back to when we were in the medium still, but I just landed somewhere here, I guess, I couldn't really tell. Then I tried forwards and that worked, although no one was in the house."

You nodded thoughtfully.

"Well that's your individual powers, and I'm gonna guess that Dirk's work too. But what about flight? You guys could fly before too right?"

Dirk nodded and stepped forward, well, more like floated forward, then hovered in front of you. Well that was that question answered.

"Well, ok. I don't think we want to test the whole immortal thing, but even though the evidence says you should still be immortal, you should be cautious. We don't know for sure."

"So were we going to empty our syladexes or not?" Karkat asked.

"Yeah, you can if you want. I'll help you go through them and we'll see what we can keep. You guys should have some spare sets of clothes in there somewhere if memory servers, so when you find them give them to me and I'll wash them for you."

You added that you'd help Dave finish first and walked back inside.

* * *

You were back in bed again after a long afternoon of work. Dave and Dirk had a few spare sets of clothes in the dryer after being washed, and you found some hand-me-downs that had yet to fit your younger brother for Karkat to use as spares.

The stuff you salvaged from the trio's syladexes was stored in the spare room which you planned on cleaning out properly for them so they could put their stuff in the wardrobe and drawers.

You were staring up at your ceiling through the dark as sleep refused to take over you. You turned your head to look at the glowing numbers of your alarm clock and groaned when you saw that it was past midnight. You were lucky you were on school break.

You rolled around for a bit before you heard shuffling outside your door. You froze, your senses kicking into overdrive as you tried to listen for any other noises.

Your door opened a crack and you quickly shut your eyes, pretending to be asleep.

You heard a quiet sigh and you recognised the person to be one of the guys. You'd told them that if they needed anything during the night to come and wake you up.

You opened your eyes and sat up slightly, trying to make out which one of them was at your door.

"Oh, you _are_ awake."

You recognised the lowered voice as Karkat's.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep."

"Neither. Nightmares."

You suddenly remembered that trolls slept in recuperacoons for a reason. The sopor helped chase away the nightmares that plagued them, and there wasn't any on earth.

You sat up further and shuffled over to sit on the edge of your bed. You patted the mattress beside you.

You could see Karkat hesitate, but he eventually came in, closing the door behind him and sat next to you.

"You want to talk about it?" you asked. Karkat shook his head.

You flopped over onto your back and returned to staring up at the dark ceiling. Eventually, Karkat also lay back.

"So what was it like on Alternia?" you asked quietly. You didn't want to wake anyone up.

"I don't know, different to here I guess," he replied as quietly as he could manage. You could feel him shrug next to you.

"Different how?"

"Well, for one I had a fucking recuperacoon."

You chuckled softly.

"What else, alien boy?"

"I was only really ever awake at night so it was always pretty dark, although I could see fine."

"Can you see in here?"

"Yeah, I can see pretty well."

"Seriously? I can't see shit."

It was Karkat's turn to chuckle now.

"Yeah, I can see your stupid face perfectly."

"Ha, well at least I don't have to see yours."

"Bitch."

"Ass."

You continued to playfully poke shit at each other for another hour or so, asking things like what kind of jobs were available on Alterina and if Karkat was cute as a wiggler. You got a light punch for that one.

You eventually fell asleep at some point, although you don't remember when, and when you woke up Karkat was gone.

You crept to the spare room to find him sound asleep on his mattress on the floor, much alike the Striders.

You closed the door quietly and let them sleep, deciding to make pancakes for breakfast.

* * *

 **Ahh another chapter up, and another one is already being written as you read this. I've had a bit of free time lately, so the next chapter shouldn't take too long. I've also started another fic which was sitting in my fanfic folder for a while. I found it again and was suddenly hit with inspiration, so I guess I'll see where it goes.**

 **Thanks as always for the kind words of encouragement! Happy reading! :D**


	5. Chapter 4 - the crashes keep on coming

"I have to go back to school in two weeks," you said as you picked at the remains of your pancake with your fork. "So we need to figure out what we're going to do about that before I do."

You looked up at Karkat.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go out into public just yet, but if _you two_ want to come," you pointed to the Striders with your fork. "Then we can probably enrol you in my school."

"You do realise we spent 3 years on a meteor, right? We kinda missed the bus for school there," Dirk said. You shrugged in response.

"You guys are smart, I'm sure you'd do fine with a bit of my help. But it's up to you, I won't force you."

You stood up and grabbed your plate, taking it to the sink. You went through the doorway to the living room and proceeded to flop onto the couch and turn on the TV.

When the screen flickered to life, it showed a news program. It seemed the reporter was talking about aliens.

"As of yesterday afternoon, an alien has been reported to have been captured and taken in for tests and questioning. A video of the alien before the authorities arrived has been uploaded onto youtube, even though the government has been said to want to keep this quiet, and the video has begun to go viral as people around the world are taking an interest."

A shaky video of a grey skinned girl with horns on her head was shown as the reporter talked about the video. You recognised the fashionable attire and green symbol on her shirt almost immediately.

You shot up from the couch.

"Guys! We have a big problem!" You shouted as you walked to the doorway of the living room, but your shout was drowned out by another.

"DAVE!"

Suddenly a tangle of blue and red came hurtling towards you and you were knocked back into the living room and onto the ground with a yelp. You moaned in pain as you tried to untangle yourself from the various limbs.

"Dave Dave Dave! I finally found you!" exclaimed the voice that you had heard yell before you became one with the floor.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, I love having personal time with the cold, hard, painful floor," you groaned.

The two on top of you stood up and Dave offered you a hand. You took it and stood up, assessing the damage. Just a couple of bruises, nothing too serious, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

The boy in blue had a big, goofy, and toothy grin plastered onto his face. You'd know this dork anywhere.

John was bouncing around in the air next to Dave and you saw a small smile playing on Dave's lips.

"John I presume," you said and held out a hand.

John landed lightly on the floor and shook your hand.

"Yeah! How did you know? Did Dave tell you?" he asked.

"No, it's... complicated. I'll explain later."

"Dude, John, how did you find us?" Dave asked.

"I don't really know, I just kinda went where I thought you were until I found you, it just kinda felt like you were in places. I was up all night looking." John shrugged as he explained.

You noticed the dark circles under John's eyes framed by his glasses. Poor thing was probably exhausted.

"John, have you eaten anything lately? We've just eaten breakfast, but I can whip up some more pancake batter if you want," you offered, and John's stomach growled.

Karkat and Dirk came into the room to see what all the commotion was.

"Holy shit, John?" exclaimed Karkat.

"Hey Karkat!" John said, the derpy grin returning.

The two had a happy reunion which Dave joined, and you and Dirk stood awkwardly to the side. You eventually cleared your throat loudly.

"As happy as I am for you guys, we have a really big problem. The government's got Kanaya."

That put a halt to all conversation.

* * *

The video ended and you leaned back into the chair and spun it to face the group. The four boys tore their eyes from the computer screen you had replayed the news clip on.

"So what do you want to do?" you asked.

"We get her back," Karkat said. It didn't sound like a suggestion. You could see the determination set on his face, and you knew he wasn't one to let anything happen to any of his friends.

"And how are you going to do that?" you asked. "Karkat, as great of a fighter as you are, you _can't_ attack any humans. They're already super wary of you. I mean, come on, you're aliens, humans are weird about aliens. What do you think would happen to Kanaya if you got them thinking that you're hostile?" You were giving Karkat a stern look as you said all this. He needed to stop and think, he was going to let his emotions take control and he needed to think properly.

"They aren't going to take any chances, and humans can be cruel, Karkat. They'll lock her up, do tests, she won't be 'her', she'll be 'it'. They'll treat her as if she isn't sentient, as if she can't feel pain, like-"

Dave's hand on your shoulder stopped you. You looked up at him, your eyes big and worried. You hadn't noticed you were frowning so deeply until now.

You looked down at your lap and took a steadying breath.

"You guys need to think this out. We need to establish you as friendly. You _have_ to make my planet like you. And I think you're going to need my help even more now."

You looked up at the four familiar faces.

"There are others out there who read the comic, they know you like I do. If they've seen the news, they'll know you're here and they'll want to help. I know I do."

"Hey (name)?" Dirk asked.

You looked over at him.

"Will you be our liaison?"

You blinked.

You were a little taken aback by this request.

"I, uh, I can try. I mean, if you really want me to. But I don't know much about liaising," you replied.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Dave said. "Make them stop and think. You can convince people that trolls are chill, I know you can."

You thought it over for a bit.

"Ok," you said and stood up. "I'll do it."

You were greeted by four smiles, though John looked a little confused. He leaned over and whispered to Dave.

"So who is she again?"

* * *

You flopped onto your bed. You'd been doing that a lot lately, but your bed was just so floppable, especially when you were this tired and stressed.

You heaved out a sigh.

Just what the hell had you gotten yourself into?

It was bad enough when it was just the three of them, but now you knew the others were here too, and some of them were in danger.

 _Poor Rose, I wonder if she knows about Kanaya?_

And then there was your new job. How were you going to convince humanity that these people who come from a naturally violent race are friends and not foes? And besides, you knew them well as characters, but you'd only _really_ known four of them for a couple of days.

You groaned and rolled onto your side.

A knock came from your door and it opened to reveal Dave standing outside your room.

He gave a small wave and a "hey," which you replied to half heartedly.

Dave walked over and sat on your bed beside you where you moved your legs and curled up into a ball.

"Want to have a feelings jam?" he asked.

You gave a tired shake of your head.

"There's not really much to talk about."

Dave nodded understandingly.

You sighed.

Dave's hand found its way to your back and rubbed slow circles up and down it.

You stiffened up at first, not expecting his touch, but relaxed into the calming movements after a bit.

"Thanks," you mumbled. "I just don't know how the hell I'm gonna do this, and people's lives are at risk. Wait, can I use 'people' when referring to trolls? Or should I just say 'trolls'? Trolls are people too, right?"

Dave chuckled at your sleepy rambling and you found yourself smiling with him.

"You should get some sleep," he said, hand slowing even further, his finger tips gently massaging the tense muscles under your skin.

"Mm," was all you could muster in response. You'd had a big day after John crashed in. Your parents weren't exactly happy with the growing number of boys in their house, but John had explained he was originally with Roxy when they first got here and would meet back up with her.

Before he left though, you had all sat down and talked over strategies for getting Kanaya out, which your parents didn't like either.

All in all your day was pacifying parents and going over strategies and jobs.

Needless to say you were tired.

You hadn't noticed your eye lids had closed until you felt the warmth of Dave's hand leave your back and you opened your eyes to look up at him.

"Hey Dave?"

"Yeah (name)?"

"Do you think I can really do this? I mean, convince people not to kill them?"

Dave looked at you for a bit before turning away. You couldn't tell what he was looking at or what expression was on his face due to his shades.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know you well enough to say for sure, but from what I've seen, you've got the charisma and smarts."

He turned to face you again.

"I've got this weird feeling that if anyone can do it, you can."

"Thanks Dave, that really means a lot."

You gave him a sleepy smile and you could see the corner of his mouth twitch up in response.

"We're gonna get Kanaya back, no matter what," you stated, then sat up.

"Now get out, I wanna get changed into my comfy pyjamas and go to sleep."

Dave smirked at you.

"But what if I want to see tha-"

A pillow to the face cut him off and you pushed him out the door.

"Good night Dave!"

You heard a muffled "good night" from the other side of the door.

You both leaned on the door, each on one side, and shared a private smile before pushing off and heading to your separate beds for the night.

* * *

 **Heyy, next chapter, I know I said it would be quick, but things came up. School and all, y'know? Anyway, thanks again for all your support! I'm glad that there are people reading and enjoying this!**

 **I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully this one will be enough for a while since it's a bit longer than usual! Thanks and enjoy :3**


	6. Chapter 5 - doomed or alternate?

"Hi, my name is (name) and while you probably don't know me, some of you will know these guys," you gestured to Dave, Karkat, Dirk, John and Roxy who were sitting around you. "I've spent the last three days with them, and as you probably know, one of their friends, Kanaya, has been... captured, for want of a better word. We don't know where she is, and we don't know how to help her, but these five have asked me to help them try. If you don't know who they are, their names are John," John gave a wave and a goofy grin to show who he was. "Roxy," she gave a lopsided smile and raised her hand. "Dirk," he gave a lazy salute. "Dave," he jerked his chin up in that cool-kid way. "And Karkat," he nodded with a serious expression on his face, arms folded over his chest. "They came here from other universes, and if you want to know more, as crazy as it sounds, read the webcomic Homestuck. They _were_ originally just characters in this universe, but they've somehow ended up here and are more than just characters in a comic. This sounds crazy, I know, and I know not everyone, heck, _most people_ won't believe us, but hopefully the news articled linked in the description will be enough to convince you that I'm not lying or trying to prank anyone.

"There are others out there, we don't know exactly how many, who or where they are, but we need to help them, we _all_ do. I want you to get online, make a splash in social media using the hashtag #EarthIsAnAlly on anything you can think of, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, it doesn't matter, and hopefully we can all band together and figure something out.

"As for those of you who are in the same situation as these guys," you gestured to the five again. "If you see this, you need to know that there are people here who are your allies and your friends; we're trying to help you. We've found out that things from your universes don't work here, such as your sylladexes, watch out for those, they'll dump all your stuff on you if you try to use them, but things from the game like god tier powers do. If any of you find any of the others, stick together and let us know where you are in any way you can think of. If you're like these guys and you've found someone to help you, _stay with them_ , they can help. I'm putting my e-mail address in the description so that if you're someone who's helping one of them or they're staying with you or even if you've just seen them, you can contact me. I'm sure they'd like to see each other again.

"That's it for now since we're still figuring things out, so any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. We'll keep doing updates on what's happening and how you can help, so stay tuned."

You swivelled around in your desk chair to face the group after the video had ended.

"So what do you think? Is it good to go online?" you asked.

"Deffs. Holy shit the internet's gonna go cray over this," Roxy said with a big grin on her face.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've done everything we can for now, all that's left to do is wait," Karkat added.

"Well," you turned to John and Roxy. "You guys can either go back to wherever it is you're staying, or you can chill here for a while, but my parents have said that you can't really move in like these three since our house is already pretty full."

"That's ok, we've been here for a while making this anyway, so I think we'll go meet up with Sam again," said John.

"Who's Sam?" asked Dave.

"Oh, that's who we've been staying with, like how you've been with (name)!" John replied.

"Huh..."

"Anyways, we'll be getting outta your hair now, I'm tired and could sure as hell use a shower or something," Roxy said and straightened up.

John got up and joined her as they left, and you waved them off at your front door, watching them fly off. John decided to not use his teleport-y power too much since things got kinda weird when he was looking for Dave, he wouldn't elaborate as to how though, so he and Roxy had been using the power of flight to get around.

"You guys could've at least said come out to see them off," you said to the trio when you came back in.

"We already said bye here, and besides, I'm sure they'll be back. It's hard to get rid of Lalonde once she's taken a liking to ya. She's like a bad smell, except she actually smells kinda nice? When she hasn't been drinking a heap at least," Dirk replied.

 _Striders_ , you thought, and shook your head. Boy did they have a weird way with words.

"Whatever, I'm going to go take a shower, so entertain yourselves without burning down the house," you said and left the room to go get your pyjamas.

* * *

You had curled up in a recliner in your living room earlier and Dave had joined you shortly after on the couch. Your parents had long gone to bed, Karkat had ransacked your bookshelf earlier and was currently hiding in the spare room with a pile of your books and Dirk... you didn't really know what he was doing, but he was doing it somewhere else. You think you saw him at the family computer earlier? But if the soft snores coming from the guys' room was anything to go by, those two had hit the hay too.

There wasn't much on T.V since it was getting kind of late, not that you were really paying attention by now anyway. It was getting to that time of night where you were thinking about sleep yourself.

But Dave had other ideas.

"So what's up with you and Karkat?"

"Hwah?" you said as you turned to him, fatigue marking your face and slowing your movements.

You could have sworn you saw the corner of his mouth twitch up, but he began to talk again before you could tell for sure.

"You two seem to get along in a hate-y kinda way," he explained.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess? I dunno, it's just really easy to get him wound up and it's kinda fun. But the fact that he fights back makes it even better; the challenge y'know?" you said.

You were trying to explain it to the best of your ability, but your tired brain was sluggish. You stretched out your arms and back, a satisfying pop coming from your shoulders and spine before you gave a big yawn and rubbed at your eyes.

"I dunno, I guess I see you guys as good friends? If you're trying to get at me and Karkat getting into a kismestitude I... well, I don't know. It could work, I guess." you explained.

Dave looked at you kind of blankly.

"That's the black quadrant right? The hate one."

You face palmed.

"Yes Dave, caliginous, blackrom, spades, the hate one, whatever floats your boat. I thought you knew this shit? I mean, you were talking about auspisticing before."

"Yeah, but that was one we talked about a lot on the meteor, lots of shit went down and that word popped up a lot."

"Ok, yeah, that makes sense. But yeah, I dunno, I guess if Karkat _was_ my kismesis, I would probably have a more relaxed relationship with him, more shit talking and joking around than full on hating each other, kinda like Terezi and John," you said.

Dave nodded in understanding, and then a look flashed across his face like he just had an idea.

"Hey, just wondering, do you have, like, a partner? I mean, are you single?" he asked.

You smirked.

"Well well, Mr Strider, I didn't know you were so forward."

You heard him mutter a "fuck" under his breath. You just chuckled.

"Don't worry, I got what you meant."

"... and?"

"And what?"

" _Are_ you single?"

"As a Pringle," you snickered.

"Huh, really? I would've expected someone as fine as you to have someone. Uh, I-I mean... fucking hell, why does this always happen?" Dave said, exasperated.

You tried to play it off cool, although you suspected the blush you could feel heating up your face probably didn't help.

"D-don't worry too much, that was very flattering, um, thank you. I guess you're pretty 'fine' yourself."

You suspected the slight stutter in your words didn't help much either.

"Oh, you guess? Jeez, I flat out compliment you and I just get 'oh, yeah, I guess you're pretty hot'," Dave said, his cool composure and smirk back.

"Oh says the one who embarrassed himself in the process."

"Hey I didn't hear you complaining before, in fact, I think I even heard a thank you."

"Yeah yeah, lay off cool kid. If it means anything, you _are_ hot, in an aesthetically pleasing way."

"Nah, I'm literally on fire, come too close and you'll get burned, that's how hot I am."

"Narcissistic much, Dave?"

"Hey if you say so. I mean, being so hot I literally want to go out with myself, I take that as a compliment"

By now you were in fits of laughter and even Dave had joined in with his soft chuckling.

When you had calmed down, a thought passed through your mind.

"Hey Dave?" you asked.

"Yeah?"

"Weren't you and Karkat going out?"

"What? No, why would think that? I mean, yeah, we're bros and all, but not to that degree."

"Huh? But Hussie confirmed it as canon..."

"Who the fuck's Hussie?"

"The creator of Homestuck."

"Oh right, the comic. Wait, so I'm going out with Karkat in it?"

"Yeah, but only in the main timeline I think? I don't know, in the Game Over timeline you weren't but in the Retcon one you are. I think it has a lot to do with the people in the timeline and what happens. But... if you aren't going out with Karkat," you said slowly. "Then, that means... Dave I think you're from a doomed timeline."

You looked at each other for a while before you spoke again.

"Dave, how many of the trolls were alive to help you fight the final bosses?"

"Um, a few, why?"

"Just name as many as you can remember for me."

"Ok, let's see, there was Karkat, obviously, Kanaya, Terezi, Gamzee, Vriska, and I there was one other guy with retro 3D glasses and I think his maroon pixie girlfriend? I dunno who they were but they didn't come with us on the meteor, I think they went to the dream bubbles. Kar mentioned the guy's name once or twice but I don't remember it."

"Mm, yeah, that would have been Sollux and Aradia, and yeah, they did go back to the dream bubbles. But if that's all then that means that's everyone from the Retcon timeline. Well, troll-wise anyway. Who was there from your game? And who did you meet in the new game as well?" you asked.

"Uh everyone from my game was present and accounted for, although Jade and John were on a big fucking gold space ship. I think Davesprite was there too? But I think he and John died and Jade got left kinda alone. John teleported into the new game somehow, I don't know what the hell happened for him to get those powers but I get the feeling he saved our asses. Probably by accident too knowing him. Anyway, Dirk, Jake, Roxy and Jane were all there too if that answers your question."

"I don't get it, that still right. What changed?" you mumbled, thinking for a little. "Hmmm, what about sprites? And the mayor? Was he there?"

"Man I can't imagine a timeline _without_ the mayor, and the sprites were kinda weird. Nanasprite was there along with Davesprite, they were with Jade and John, uh, Rose's weird cat was around then became Jasprosesprite^2, that was a nightmare, along with Davepetasprite^2. Uh, ARquiusprite was in the new game I think, I'm not too sure though I was pretty distracted by his fucking amazing muscles, like damn. I think there was a blue cat guy with big horns too. None of the troll's sprites though."

"Ok, and the cherubs? Where was Calliope in all this?"

"Who?"

"Calliope? Green, wears a classy suit, kinda skull like, beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure?"

"Not ringing any bells."

"Oh, bingo! That's what's different; no Calliope. That means she didn't ever get in contact with Roxy, which means she could have become the alpha and taken the body. I wonder if this was the timeline Alt Callie came from?" you wondered. Dave just kinda stared at you before saying "I have no clue what you're going on about."

"Oh jeez, ok, I'm gonna give you the tl;dr. There's another alien race called Cherubs. They're green and kinda skeletal in a way, and two minds share one body, it's complicated. Anyway, there were two who got involved with your game, Calliope, the good one, and Caliborn, the bad one. Calliope was overpowered by Caliborn who took control of their shared body and kinda became all powerful and tried to destroy every universe of every timeline. He became known as Lord English and you guys had to defeat him along with some other bosses to win the game. Although I'm guessing that you didn't since he never came to be in your timeline, am I right?"

Dave nodded.

"Ok, looks like that's all sorted then," you sighed. "I wonder what else was different?"

You heaved a yawn.

"All in all, I think that maybe your timeline was just an alternate one rather than a doomed one, maybe because of John's retcon powers, I dunno. But hey, what matters is that you're alive. You made it."

You gave a small, sleepy smile. Dave mirrored it to a degree.

"Yeah, we did."

You grabbed the remote and switched off the T.V.

"It's not like we were actually watching it anyway," you said and stood up.

You stretched, your back giving a satisfying pop, then turned to Dave.

"Better hit the sack, huh? It got kinda late all of a sudden."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan."

Dave got up from the couch and walked over to you.

When he was close enough you gave him a quick hug, it just felt like the right thing to do.

"Night, Dave."

"G'night, (name)."

You went your separate ways.

When you lay down in bed however, sleep wouldn't overcome you. You tossed and turned, thinking about the conversation you just shared, and the hug.

 _Why did I do that?_

 _I dunno it just kinda happened, and I mean, it's not like he pulled away or anything so I didn't make him uncomfortable. In fact, he hugged me back. Oh my god why am I so worked up over this, it was just a fucking hug. It didn't mean anything, I was just saying good night._

 _But you want it to mean something_ a little voice in the back of your mind said.

 _No, I don't. It was a goodnight hug and that's all. Completely platonic._

You rolled over angrily and tried even harder to go to sleep. Which, of course, just made it harder to go to sleep. Stupid thoughts running around in your stupid head. Ugh.

 _Why am I even worrying about this? I barely even know the guy. Well, at least in person. Ok so I know him pretty well. Still, that doesn't mean I need to be worrying about a hug of all things. Friends hug all the time, and that's what we are, friends. What I should be thinking about is helping Kanaya. We've done the video, now we need to find out where she's being kept and talk to the people there. Should we bring Karkat? Maybe not at first. But definitely Dave and Dirk..._

You eventually drifted off, but little did you know, Dave had similar problems getting to sleep that night.

* * *

 **Ohhhh my god I finally put up a new chapter I really left this too long I'm sorry u^u But hey, at least it's super long, in fact it's the longest chapter yet. So there's that. I guess.**

 **I'm gonna be honest with you guys here, chapter production is gonna be super slow for this year, well at least until the end of November when my exams are over and I'm fREE FROM THIS HELL HOLE HAHAHAAAA!**

 **So yeah, I'm gonna try to make chapters nice and long in exchange, so get used to a lot of things happening in each chapter. I'm going to try to put a little more fluff in here and there and Kanaya will be rescued soon, like, within the next few chapters if all goes according to plan, and there will be a Rosemary reunion because I really ship it and it has to be in there I mean come on.**

 **I'll also try to get some more chapters up for my other little side fic Summer Nights and be finishing hopefully next year.**

 **So tl;dr After exams and everything is done I'm going to hopefully start posting chapters more frequently and finish my other fic.**


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